Job Talk: Permeable Policymaking: Foreign Firms in the Japanese Political Economy

The Asian Studies Program invites all to a talk by Dr. Kristi Govella, candidate for the position of Assistant Professor of Asian Studies. The talk is entitled “Permeable Policymaking: Foreign Firms in the Japanese Economy,” and will be held on Thursday March 2, 3:00-4:00 pm, in the Center for Korean Studies Auditorium.

Abstract: How does internationalization affect the politics of trade? Can foreign firms meaningfully influence policy? Japan is an interesting place to examine these questions because it was remarkably closed to foreign investment until a sudden influx in the 1990s. While foreign firms were initially dependent on their home governments to influence Japanese policy, opportunities for these firms to act independently increased with the opening of the Japanese economy. Interestingly, the manner in which a sector opened had lasting and sometimes unexpected consequences, creating cleavages among Japanese and foreign firms in ways that shaped their interests and the trajectory of policy change. This research sheds light on the ways that internationalization can enable foreign firms to impact policy debates directly from within a host country, potentially altering the dynamics of both domestic politics and international relations.

About the Speaker: Kristi Govella is an Associate Professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, specializing in Japanese politics and Asian regionalism. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.